StudentLoan

Even as total outstanding student debt rises to $1 trillion, lawmakers have yet to allow loans to be discharged in bankruptcy. Without an escape clause, these loans can strangle a person. Take 36-year-old Nick Keith, who remains $142,000 eight years after graduating from culinary school.

Collegians are having to become more careful consumers, as high-quality jobs become scarce and interest rates on student loans are set to increase. A comparison of the average return on investment for over 1,200 American colleges and universities offers some clues on how to choose.

How do you avoid sending your kid off into the world without a pile of student loan debt? One key is to figure out the real, bottom-line price of a specific college -- before you apply. DailyFinance's Laura Rowley explains.

On a recent Today Show Money 911 segment, a caller said she'd filed for bankruptcy -- but that didn't free her from her student loans. She then asked how bankruptcy would affect her ability to get more student loans. Clearly, she isn't learning the right lesson from Chapter 11.